


Haikyuu Drabbles

by fullmetaldouche



Category: Haikyuu!!
Genre: Drabble Collection, F/M, Fluff, Soulmates
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-02
Updated: 2016-02-03
Packaged: 2018-04-18 15:07:29
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 6
Words: 10,512
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4710389
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fullmetaldouche/pseuds/fullmetaldouche
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Just a bunch of Haikyuu oneshots, AUs and drabbles I write when I feel inspired. Mostly various x OC because it's the style I'm most comfortable with. Enjoy!</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Realization and Acceptance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Soulmate AU where you and your soulmate have the same mark in different spots on your bodies. Tsukishima Kei x OC.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So this is my very first fic, hopefully it'll get a few hits and a few people will like it. I am deeply, truly in love with the one and only asshole Tsukshima Kei, so a lot of these will probably be centered around him. Oops. Enjoy :)

It was Hinata Shouyou who approached the brunette during English class, a desperate pleading look written all over his face. Mustering up all the courage he could, he slammed his hands down on her desk in an overly enthusiastic Hinata-like manor. The slam of skin against wood caught the attention of every student in the classroom. Though the young girl was used to her classmate's overzealous behavior, the sudden sound and movement had her almost jumping out of her chair -- and her skin. "Jesus, Hinata-san, you scared me." She placed a hand on her chest, as if to stop her rapidly beating heart from bursting completely out of her rib cage.

"Sachiro-san! Will you...will you..." Hinata's face was almost as red as a tomato. The girl recoiled slightly, uncomfortable and unsure of what the obviously distressed boy would do next. The eyes of every student was trained on the two, stares unblinking and unceasing. They waited for drama to speak about later, and their hungry looks caused the poor girl to squirm slightly in her seat. Faintly, she heard their whispers. 

"Is he going to confess to her?"

"No, not Hinata, he's too focused on volleyball." 

"What does he want from her?"

"Will you...be the assistant manager of our volleyball team? Our current manager has a lot on her plate right now, and I think you're the perfect person for the job!" The redhead pushed the words out of his mouth in one huge jumble, and it took Mai a few moments to put the pieces of the puzzle together in her head.

He was just...asking about volleyball? She heard the disappointed groans of her classmates as they turned back to their work. Her heart was still running a mile a minute, and she rubbed both her hands over her hot face. "Are you kidding me?" She mumbled, words muffled by her palms. This damn kid, he had to make that big of a fuss to ask her to join a damn club? Peeking at her orange-haired classmate from between her fingers, she let out an exasperated sigh. "I don't know, Hinata-san. I'll think about it, okay?"

"Okay!" He slammed a club application on her desk, causing her to jump slightly again. "Thank you very much!" He all but yelled before turning around and starting towards the door.

Before he could leave, however, she called out. "Oh, and Hinata?" He craned his head to look at her, eyebrows raised in innocent curiosity. "If you ever pull something like that again, you'll regeret it. Trust me." She watched triumphantly as his eyes widened slightly and his adam's apple bobbed in his throat as he swallowed.

"Y-yes, Sachiro-san!" And with that, he scurried out of the classroom. Mai laid her head on her desk with an audible thump.

***

"Wow, Mai, you're pretty scary." She heard the smug, shit-eating grin before she even saw it. Cramming her books into her bag and trying to get home as soon as possible, she sighed. There was a certain mindset you need to be in to deal with Tsukishima Kei, and she was not prepared. Aggressively zipping the bag shut, she turned to the blonde.

"If you're here to verbally torture me today, beanpole, I'm not in the mood." She tried to walk past him, but he simply fell in step next to her. His long legs easily matched her stride, and she was tempted to just run away from him. Obviously, he would catch her, but she at least liked to entertain the idea of escaping her impending doom.

"I'm not here to verbally abuse anyone. I'm here to walk home with you and Yamaguchi." He shoved his hands in his pockets and glanced sidelong at her, gauging her reaction. Mai and Yamaguchi had been neighbors since they were five, and close friends since they were six. She still never understood how such a sweet guy could be friends with such a colossal ass, but she had given up on trying to decipher the mysteries of the universe many years ago.

Yamaguchi was waiting for them outside the doors of the school, and he quickly fell into step beside his longtime neighbor with an easy smile. "Hey." She returned his smile and nodded slightly. "So I heard Hinata very loudly offered you the position of assistant manager."

Mai groaned, running her fingers through her hair in frustration. "Yeah. God, it was so embarrassing." She heard Tsukishima snicker to her right and she smacked his chest swiftly with the back of her hand to shut him up. The hollow thunk it made was oddly satisfying. Maybe she should hit Tsukishima more often. "I mean, I have nothing against the guy, but, god, can't he just take it easy for once? He's always yelling and running, and jumping, and..." She sighed, trying unsuccessfully to blow a few stray strands of hair from her eyes. Yamaguchi, being the angel he was, tucked the unruly pieces of hair behind Mai's ear for her. "Thanks, Tadashi."

Silence ensued for a few moments, and the only sound bouncing off the brick walls of the houses was the slapping of three pairs of shoes against the sidewalk. "I have gotta say, though, the your face was hilarious. You looked absolutely terrified." Tsukishima snickered for the second time. Mai shot him an unappreciative glare, but the blonde continued to smirk.

"Sorry" She deadpanned "I forgot you feed off off the misfortune of others." She clenched and unclenched her firsts, trying to exercise the restraint to punch him right in his stupid face. Tsukishima began to laugh harder at her agitated state, and she poked him hard in the arm with a slim finger. "Watch it, you walking, talking lamppost. I might accept Hinata's offer and become the assistant manager just so I can make your club activities a living hell." This boy infuriated her to no end. She wasn't known for having a bad temper, but something about Tsukishima really got under her skin.

Tsukishima placed his hand up in mock-surrender. "Oh no, I don't want to be pushed around by all 170 cm of you." He couldn't stop a small smile from tugging at the corner of his lips as he desperately tried to keep from laughing. Luckily, they had reached Yamaguchi's house, and Mai could be rid of the insufferable teenage boy. 

"See you Monday, Mai." Yamaguchi interjected, trying to break some of the tension between his friends. 

Mai turned to him, smiling tightly. "Yeah. See you." She took a step back, still pissed off and wanting to get the last word in. She stuck a finger in the blonde's direction, fixing him with a glare. "If you're staying here tonight, sleep with one eye open. " She began to walk towards her house without giving the boy any time to respond.

Just when she thought she was in the clear, his voice floated to her ears from down the road. "Don't forget to fill out the application form!" God, she hated him so much. 

Grinding her teeth, she yelled back. "Go to hell, Tsukishima Kei!"

"Only if you're there!"

She was going to kill him in his sleep tonight.

***

Lo and behold, Mai ended up agreeing to Hinata's request, becoming the assistant manager of Karasuno's boys volleyball team. She told herself she was doing it to spite Kei, but that was only half of it. No matter how much he pissed her off, there was always something that brought her back around to him. She just needed to figure out what it was.

She found herself observing him at practice, appreciating new things about him, or more importantly, his physique. She came to appreciate his broad shoulders and his handsome face. She noticed the small things, like the crease that would form between his eyebrows when he was concentrating on a play, or how the ends of his blonde hair would curl at the nape of his neck when he got sweaty. Slowly but surely, she was falling for him, and she was going to hit the ground hard.

One day, after practice, life sent her a wake up call. 

"Good job, Tsukki!" She cooed sarcastically, throwing him his water bottle. His reflexes always seemed to amaze her as he caught the airborne container before it could peg him in the face. Admittedly, it would have been pretty funny.

"Don't call me that." His reply was curt, but Mai could hear the friendly familiarity in his voice that was reserved for only a few people. She smiled as she walked past him, and he reached out to tug on her ponytail gently, muttering something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like "nuisance". She knew he meant well, however, and couldn't wipe the smile off her face, even after the boys left the gym to go change.

***

Knocking on the door to the club room, Mai began to open the twist the knob. "Guys? It's me. You'd all better have pants on." She pushed the door open and much to her luck, all of the boys did have pants on. That wasn't what caught her eye, though. She found herself staring at a pale, toned back. Smack dab in between the shoulder blades, was a simple tattoo. A crescent moon. Exactly like the one on her hip. Her heart lept into her throat as Tsukishima peered at her from over his bare shoulder, eyes narrowed. "Oi, what are you staring at?" He asked, shrugging on his shirt and blocking the mark from view. 

It was him.

Of all the people, it had to be him.

"I-I..." Mai stuttered, trying to push a coherent sentence out of her mouth. "Here are the permission slips for the tournament. Please get them signed by Monday." She thrust the stack of papers at Daichi, who took them with a surprised look. With that, she wheeled around and left the room, shutting the door loudly behind her. Her heart pounded in her chest, threatening to burst, and her brain was pulsing painfully against her skull. She needed to go somewhere to think. Alone.

Mai wandered the school grounds aimlessly until she found a quiet spot to sit, underneath a cherry tree. A light breeze washed across over her, cooling her searing hot skin. It didn't help. She was burning from the inside out, and she didn't know how to stop it. Taking a deep breath, she tried to rationally deal with the problem at hand, but her mind refused to work. She couldn't think of anything but him. His face. His body. His tattoo.

She eventually gave up, pushing herself off the ground with a grunt. Her knees creaked and protested, and she felt stiff the whole walk home.

****

Mai could think of no other solution than to avoid her friend. Whenever she saw him in the hall, she would turn tail and scurry the other way. She sat as far away as possible in class, and didn't walk home with Yamaguchi when Kei tagged along. The only place she couldn't truly get away from him was during practice. She was cowardly enough to run away from him during the school day, but she just couldn't shirk her club responsibilities. It was during volleyball practice when she was the most tortured. It took almost all of her willpower not to stare at him when he played, not to admire his fluid movements and astounding intelligence.

She knew Tsukishima wasn't an idiot, either. She could feel his eyes on her as she hurried over to Kiyoko for work as soon as she entered the gym. He knew she was avoiding him, she wasn't exactly being discreet about it. This continued for about a week before Kei had enough. He was tired of her tip-toeing around him and he wanted his friend back.

After practice one day, while Mai was cleaning up the gym, Tsukishima slipped in. She heard footsteps approaching her, and when she looked up, she tried to hurriedly put all of the volleyballs back in the bag so she could escape as quickly as possible. "Need help?" His voice startled her, but she just shook her head frantically, trying unsuccessfully to stop her hands from trembling.

"No, thank you, I'm fine." She hoped he couldn't hear her voice wavering, but the hope was incredibly naive. Tsukisima noticed everything and she knew it.

"Why are you avoiding me?" He crossed his arms across his chest angrily, getting straight to the point. Her stomach did about seven backflips, and she dropped a ball in her haste.

She crouched down to pick the ball up, letting her brown hair fall as a curtain over her face. "I'm not avoiding you." The lie was obvious, but it came out of her mouth anyway. She glanced up quickly as she stood, trying to plan an escape route, only to see Tsukishima was standing between her an the gym doors. She swallowed nervously before looking back down at the gym floor, fervently shoving striped volleyballs into the mesh sack.

The blonde scoffed, shaking his head slightly. "Bullshit, don't lie to me. Now, why have you been running away from me lately, idiot?" His harsh words made her flinch slightly, but a part of her reasoned she might as well tell him. He was going to find out at some point, and she supposed it was better late than never. Straightening up, Mai stared him in the eye determinedly. All of the cowardice from moments ago was wiped from her face as she took a deep breath.

"You have a tattoo on your back. A crescent moon." She spoke slowly, keeping steady eye contact.

"...Yes."

"I have...the exact same mark on my hip." Her voice was calm, confident. She was completely different from the last few days, standing her ground in front of the very person she was terrified to even go near, let alone look at. She waited for his response, steely determination reflecting in her eyes.

"And this is such a big deal because...?" Kei looked totally unfazed by the new information. 

Mai groaned, burying her face in her hands. Sometimes, this boy was as dense as a rock. "This means we're...we're soulmates, you idiot." Her voice was muffled as she peeked at him through the spaces between her fingers. She watched in amazement as he merely smirked.

"I know. Isn't the whole point of soulmates supposed to be being with each other, though? As far as I'm concerned, you're doing it all wrong." He reached out, prying her hands from her now red face. Holding her wrists in his big hands, he leaned down slightly so he was looking at her eye-to-eye. "Did you think I was going to say no? Mai, I'm not that big of an asshole, I promise." He chuckled at her wide eyes, he found it comical to see such a fiery girl so shocked and silent. He felt his heart constrict slightly in his chest like it so often did when he looked at her. "C'mere." He mumbled, tugging on her wrists until she stepped forward into his embrace. Mai pulled her hands out of his grip to wrap them around him, the weight of the world seeming to lift off her shoulders.

"I'm sorry, I should have told you sooner." She sighed contentedly as one of his hands ran over her hair reassuringly. She was seeing a side of the boy that almost nobody had seen, and in the moment, she was insanely glad to be the object of his affections. 

"Damn right you should have told me sooner." She felt his chuckle rumble though him as she pressed her face against his chest. He placed both hands on her shoulders, pulling her back slightly so he could look her in the eyes. She watched as his adam's apple bobbed, and how his tongue ran quickly over his lips before he spoke. He seemed genuinely nervous for the first time since he had entered the gym.

"Can I kiss you?" His voice was barely above a whisper, but it rang loud and clear in her ears. Eyes wide with anticipation, she nodded once. Kei didn't move at first, he seemed to be lost somewhere else for a few moments. He soon began to lean down, eyes flitting to her slightly parted lips. His heart was pounding so hard he could feel it in his fingertips as his hands cupped her cheeks softly. 

Their lips finally met, slowly moving against each other, tentatively testing the waters. He pulled back after a few seconds, staring down at the small girl. He swore she had never looked more beautiful in her life. Moving one of his hands to the back of her neck, he began to lean in again. He sucked in a quick breath when she tangled one of her hands in his hair, and they shared their second sweet kiss as star-crossed teenagers.

It was in that moment he knew. Just like he had gotten hooked on volleyball, he was hooked on this girl.


	2. First Day of My Life

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is a song fic for First Day of My Life by Bright Eyes. Kageyama x OC. Sorry if Kags is OOC, he's a difficult character to write because he's really complicated.

_\--This is the first day of my life._   
_I swear I was born right in the doorway._   
_I went out in the rain, suddenly everything changed,_   
_They're spreading blankets on the beach. --_

_\-- Yours was the first face that I saw._   
_I think I was blind before I met you._   
_I don't know where I am,_   
_I don't know where I've been,_   
_But I know where I want to go. --_

Kageyama was taken aback as he heard beautiful peals of laughter upon entering the gym. All of his teammates were crowded around something or someone, smiling and laughing. Confused, he began to walk towards them, and Hinata noticed him approaching.

"Oh, Kageyama, you're finally here!" He beamed, looking cheerier than usual, if that was possible. "We have a new assistant manager who's here to help out Shimizu-san!"

Hearing this piqued Kageyama's interest. Someone new? He continued towards the group of boys, peeking over Sugawara's shoulder to see who they were all fawning over.

His breath caught in his throat as he caught a glimpse of their new assistant manager. She was a petite girl, with long golden hair and warm chocolate brown eyes. She had an aura of kindness around her, but rolled her eyes with attitude when Tanaka began gushing about her beauty.

Hinata pushed through the wall of his teammates, pointing his finger at Kageyama's speechless face.

"Susumu-san, this is Kageyama, our awesome setter!"

As soon as her brown eyes locked on him, Kageyama's heart stuttered slightly. She grinned at him and nodded quickly as the young boy tried to keep his composure.

"Nice to meet you, Kageyama-san." Her voice was like music to his ears. "I look forward to seeing you play this season."

Overwhelmed by her smile, Kageyama sputtered out a response. "Uhh, m-me too."

When the girl furrowed her eyebrows, confused, Kageyama realized what he had said.

"Uh, I-I mean it's nice to meet you too." He stuttered, trying not to embarrass himself and failing miserably.

She laughed slightly before pressing her lips together, trying to stifle anymore giggles for the poor boy's sake.

Kageyama felt his face get hot as he rubbed the back of his head nervously before turning away. He mumbled something inaudible about starting practice as he grabbed a ball from the basket and tried to hide his blush.

_\-- And so I thought I'd let you know,_   
_That these things take forever,_   
_And I especially am slow._   
_But I realize that I need you,_   
_And I wondered if I could come home. --_

Time passed as days turned into months, and months ever-so-slowly turned into years. The two teenagers had become good friends, but their relationship was not what Kageyama had wanted since the first day he had seen her.

He wasn't good about expressing his feelings, and he worried constantly about what being a couple would do to their friendship. By the time they had graduated from Karasuno, he still hadn't spoken a word about his intentions.

During the summer before they both had to leave for university, the two were spending time at Kageyama's house playing video games.

"Hey, Emi?" He had mumbled as his mind wandered to the consequences of not telling his friend how he felt.

She looked up at him with those eyes he so adored. "Yeah?"

"You're still gonna talk to me and stuff, even though we're going to different universities, right?"

She laughed, taking a hand off of her controller to punch him lightly in the arm. "Of course I will, idiot. I'm not just going to forget about my best friend."

She looked over to see him nod nervously, but not elaborate on the subject, his eyes trained on the television screen.

"Tobio, are you okay? You're acting all tense, what are you worried about?" She saw right through him. He hated how she could read him like nobody else.

"I'm fine." He shrugged. "It's nothing."

Eyebrows furrowed, Emi paused the game so she could turn to look at Kageyama fully.

She crossed her arms over her chest.  
"Don't you 'It's nothing' me, mister. You know I won't put up with that."

He did know, and that was what scared him. He guessed that if he was going to tell the truth, it might as well be the whole, entire, unadulterated truth.

"Emi..." He started, struggling to come up with words that could express all of the feelings storming in his head.

"Emi, ever since we met, I've-I've felt things...for you." When his friend didn't speak, he continued. "When I saw you in the gym, I thought you w-were beautiful, and I though you were even more beautiful when I got to know you." The words continued, streaming out of his mouth ceaselessly. "I really, really like you Emi. And-and I know that we're going to different schools, but I would be more than willing to take trips up to see you whenever you wanted, and-"

"Tobio."

"I would try my hardest to make you feel special. I would try to be the best boyfriend you could've ever asked fo-"

"Tobio." She said again, eyes holding an ambiguous expression Kageyama wasn't familiar with.

"Tobio, I...we can't."

His heart dropped to his feet. "Why?"

"Tobio, we're going to be so far apart. Do you understand how difficult it would be to balance your studies, your volleyball, and me?" The sadness in her eyes tore him apart.

"I can always make time for you, Emi." He whispered hoarsely, but she shook her head.

"No, Tobio. I refuse to let you throw away the things you love so you can come see me."

"But you're one of the things I love."

Her heart melted at his words, but she pushed herself off the couch, away from him.

"No. And frankly, I don't think I'm ready for a relationship right now." She closed her eyes for a second, inhaling deeply. "I should go." She whispered, and he swore he could feel his heart being wrenched right out of his chest.

"Emi, please." He called to her retreating back, and a tear slipped down her cheek. She stopped, one hand gripping the doorframe, keeping her grounded in case she decided to throw herself into his arms.

"Bye, Tobio. Do what you love in university, okay?" Her voice was a fragile whisper, but he still heard it, ringing in his ears as if she had shouted it in his face.

She left for school two days later, not a word uttered between them since that day.

_\-- Remember the time you drove all night_   
_Just to meet me in the morning? --_

A month after he had begun university on a cold, rainy Tuesday night, Kageyama heard a knock on the door of the apartment he shared with Hinata.

"I'll get it." He grumbled, rising from his spot at his desk to shuffle towards the front of the living space.

Upon opening the door, his eyes widened and his stomach flipped uncontrollably.

"E-Emi?"

_\-- And I thought it was strange,_   
_You said everything changed,_   
_You felt as if you just woke up._   
_And you said: "This is the first day of my life._   
_I'm glad I didn't die before I met you._   
_But now I don't care, I could go anywhere with you,_   
_And I'd probably be happy." --_

Emi looked up at him sheepishly though her eyelashes. "Hey there, Tobio."

His heart clenched at the sound of the voice he had missed dearly in the last month, but he was slightly startled by her appearance.

"Emi, you're soaking wet." He quickly unzipped his sweater, placing it around her shoulders and thin, dripping t-shirt.

"Yeah," she laughed nervously. "It's raining pretty hard outside, and I had to convince the security guard to let me in."

Kageyama watched with adoration as she snuggled deeper into his sweater, wrapping it tighter around herself.

"So, I came here to tell you that..." She began, scuffing one shoe on the floor nervously. "To tell you that I'm so, so sorry, Tobio." She looked up at him with eyes that were his ultimate weakness before continuing.

"Everything that I said before, when I said that I wasn't ready for a relationship...it was all a lie."

"Emi..."

"Of course, I want you to focus on what you love, but on the other hand, there's no one else on this planet who I want to be my boyfriend more than you. I was just so...scared that you would get caught up in everything thing else and forget about me."

He saw her bottom lip wobble slightly and pulled her into a hug, not caring that she was soaking wet. "Emi, I would never forget about you."

"And I understand if you'd rather stay friends, because I kinda blew my chances of going out with you. But Tobio, I'd rather live in a world where we were friends than strangers." He felt her fingers grabbing fistfuls of his shirt as she tried not to cry.

He tightened his grip on her, one hand rubbing her back reassuringly. "Emi, I think we've been friends for longer than necessary."

She looked up at him, eyes shining with the promise of tears. "What do you mean?"

"I mean that however much I love being friends with you, I've always wanted to be so much more."

A small but hopeful look began to emerge on the girl's face at his words. "Really?" She whispered.

He nodded, a rare smile finding its way onto his lips. "Really."

A few tears slipped from her eyes and onto her pale cheeks, but he leaned down and kissed them away quickly, smirking slightly at her small intake of breath as his lips connected with her skin.

He brought his mouth down to hers, and their lips brushed as he spoke.

"I love you, Emi."

"And I love you, Tobio."

_\-- So if you want to be with me,_   
_With these things there's no telling,_   
_We'll just have to wait and see._   
_But I'd rather be working for a paycheck,_   
_Than waiting to win the lottery._   
_Besides, maybe this time is different,_   
_I mean, I really think you like me. --_


	3. Reunited

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This one is Bokuto x OC. I'm super pumped about the anime's second season and can't wait to see all the new characters animated, so I thought I would do one about everyone's favourite owl. Enjoy! (i've also realized i need to stop giving the protagonists three-letter names, whoops)

"Stop bouncing so much, Ami-chan." Noya mumbled from beside the obviously excited girl. Karasuno's boys volleyball team was on their way to the spring training camp at Fukurodani Academy, and the young assistant manager hadn't stopped fidgeting since she sat down. She had been excited since the team was informed of the trip. Why she was in such high spirits, however, was a mystery. She refused to tell the boys, and they were all dying to understand the source of her recent excitability.

From the back seat, Tsukishima snickered. "You know if Nishinoya is telling you to stop moving, it's bad." Ami turned in her seat and flicked the blonde's head. 

"Shut it, Kei." She turned back to the front, not noticing the boy's blush at the casual use of his first name. Yamaguchi smiled conspiratorially at his friend, but only received a glare in response.

It seemed like an eternity before their ride finally stopped in front of the school. Not waiting for anyone else, Ami bounded out of the car and towards the gym, almost as if she had been there before. The rest of the volleyball team could only run after her. They caught up just as she burst through the doors, eyes scanning the confused faces of volleyball players until they landed on the one she was looking for.

"Kou!" She yelled breathlessly, running towards a boy with grey streaked hair. He looked equal amounts surprised and elated as he scooped Ami up in his arms and spun her in circles, her blonde hair flying in all directions. She was laughing when he placed her gently back on the gym floor, her arms wrapped lovingly around his neck. The boy leaned down, pressing his forehead gently against hers, a genuine smile gracing his lips.

"Hey, love. You made quite an entrance." He chuckled, causing Ami's face to heat up slightly

She smiled sheepishly. "I missed you...a lot. I've been looking forward to this week for a while, Koutarou." Her voice was quiet, sweet. The entire gym -- including the Karasuno team -- watched the lovers in shocked silence.

Koutarou's smile widened into his trademark grin. "I've been looking forward to it too." He tilted his chin, pressing their lips together in a short, sweet kiss before speaking again. "I love you, Ami." He watched with amusement as her green eyes widened slightly and her breath seemed to get caught in her throat. A warm fuzziness began to bloom through her chest when the words left his mouth. It wasn't the first time he'd said it, but every time he did she was mystified. 

She didn't hesitate before replying. "I love you too." Koutarou's eyes softened and he opened his mouth to speak again, but was quickly interrupted.

"I think that's enough public displays of affection for now, you two." A boy with dark hair spoke up, and Ami sheepishly unhooked her arms from around Bokuto's neck. She tried to step away from him, but he kept her pressed to his side with a protective arm around her shoulders. 

"Sorry, Akaashi." She mumbled with an apologetic smile. He waved it off nonchalantly.

"It's not that big of a problem, I'm just worried about him getting distracted." He shot a pointed glare at Bokuto, who pulled Ami a little closer to his side.

"She's an exception. I can get distracted by her because she's important." He puffed out his chest. "I play better when Ami's around." Beside him, the blonde girl began to turn red with embarrassment.

Akaashi rubbed his chin thoughtfully. "I can't really disagree with that statement..."

From the doors of the gym, Tanaka cleared his throat, getting everyone's attention. "Uh, care to explain this, Ami?" With an embarrassed smile, she turned to look at her team.

"Guys...this is Bokuto Koutarou, my boyfriend. He's the captain and ace of the Fukurodani team." 

With a triumphant smile, Bokuto added to her statement. "I'm one of the top five spikers in Japan!"

Proverbial jaws hit the floor as the boys of Karasuno gawked at their timid assistant manager. No wonder she had brushed off Tanaka and Noya's romantic advances and never answered Tsukishima's teasing about being single. They never would've guessed the shy girl had a boyfriend, not to mention one of the top five spikers in the country.

Tanaka was the first to break the surprised silence with a distressed wail. "What?! Ami-chan has a cool third year boyfriend? No fair!" Ami felt Bokuto's grip tighten subtly around her shoulders, and she patted his chest reassuringly.

"Cool it a little, Kou." She murmured sweetly, successfully bringing her boyfriend out of attack mode. That was one of the defining factors of their relationship. Ami's shy but level headed and rational personality mellowed out Bokuto's wild mood swings and hotheadedness; she was one of the only people who could bring balance to his irrationality. 

From beside them, Akaashi clapped his hands. "Alright, back to practice." He waved the Karasuno team in the direction on the change rooms before sending a glance over his shoulder. "Come on, Captain." With a faint smile, he added. "Nice to see you, Ami." 

Ami returned his comment with a grin. "You too, Akaashi." She looked up at her boyfriend beside her, deftly stepping out from under his arm and pushing him in the direction of the court. "Go practice, Kou." He took a reluctant step forward.

"Are you going to watch the game?" he mumbled. His wide, innocent eyes made him look like a child, and the young girl's heart melted slightly. What had she done to deserve him? Nothing that she could remember, but she was just grateful he was in her life. 

"No, I have manager stuff to do." Bokuto's face fell visibly at her comment, but she just smirked at him. "If you guys win this practice match, I'll spend some time tossing for you after dinner, okay?" Bokuto lit up like a Christmas tree, eyes sparkling in anticipation. He leaned down, fast as lightning, and planted a sweet kiss on her lips.

"We're gonna win this one for sure, now!" He yelled, running towards the court with enthusiasm, even more than he normally had. Ami was rooted in place for a few moments, a blush dusting her cheeks. He always kissed her spontaneously like that, but she wasn't sure if there would ever be a time when she would get used to it. She left the gym hoping that his team would win the next match.

\------

A few hours later, Ami and Bokuto were situated in the gym, the petite blonde sending tosses to her overzealous boyfriend. "You know, Kou" She started, and he stopped his constant movement to look at her. She always loved how she got his undivided attention when she talked. "I can never understand why you enjoy hitting my tosses so much. I'm sure you've been tossed to by much better setters than me."

He smiled brightly at her, striding across the gym until they were face to face. Gently placing his hands on both of her cheeks, he leaned in towards her. "Ami. Your tosses are reliable and relaxed, just like you. It's a nice change of pace when you set for me." His calloused thumbs rubbed over her cheeks softly, and she suppressed a shudder. "In a game, everything is hectic and moves so quickly, you can barely take it in. When life gets chaotic, you're the one thing that keeps me anchored. I like hitting your tosses because I don't have to worry about being fast or being accurate or being powerful. I can just focus on how much I love volleyball, and how much I love you."

Ami inhaled sharply, her heart doing a flip at his words. It was rare that Bokuto would elaborate on his feelings that much. "Kou..." She mumbled, emerald eyes staring up at him in adoration. She was painfully aware of his warm hands still cupping her face as they pulled her towards him. Their lips met softly, moving slowly but surely, just rediscovering familiar territory. It wasn't until Bokuto pulled away to nibble on her earlobe did she feel like she had stumbled somewhere undiscovered. They had been dating for over six months, but it was hard for them to see each other when they lived so far away. She wasn't a stranger to his physical contact, but this was definitely new. She liked it.

His name fell off her lips in a breathy whisper once, twice. His lips travelled down the side of her jaw, continuing to her neck. Her whispers and mewls only seemed to encourage him as one hand slipped under her shirt to trace unidentified figures on her abdomen. By now, her fingers were laced through his hair, and she tugged his mouth slightly away from her skin. When he looked up, he was pleased to see her flushed and breathing heavily. "What is it, babe?" He asked with a smug smile and a birdlike tilt of his head.

"Not here, Kou." She mumbled, untangling her fingers from his hair. Her boyfriend looked slightly disappointed, but he nodded, understanding. Without any warning, he grabbed Ami's waist and pulled her into an embrace. She didn't protest, just wrapped her arms around his neck and held on for dear life. 

As the world rushed around her, continued without her, moved on without her consent and became unbelievably hectic, Ami knew she could be certain of one thing: She was in love with Bokuto Koutarou, and there was nothing truer than that.


	4. Sleep

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Recently been reading some fanfic that has officially turned me into an Ushijima fan, so here you go :) Ushijima x OC

The young girl sitting at the library counter sighed as her eyes feverishly scanned the pages of her book. Being engulfed in a fantasy world of dragons and knights made your life seem extremely boring as soon as you had to return to reality. If she could, she would escape into the alternate realities of books every second for the rest of her life. However, the nuisances of everyday life prevented her from doing just that.

Breaking her gaze from the text in her book, the brunette looked at the clock above her. It read 11 o'clock and with a sigh she began to pack up her things in preparation to leave. Volunteering at the college library wasn't necessarily a bad thing, but she didn't always enjoy staying so late and having to close up by herself. Often by this time the last of the students had cleared out to go study elsewhere, but today seemed to be an exception. A large male figure was seated at one of the tables, head resting on a textbook and not moving. Quietly, the girl made her way over to him and called out.

"Um, excuse me?" She said gently, naively hoping the boy would hear her and wake up. Obviously, no response,

She took a few more steps towards the figure and began to realize how huge this boy was. His broad shoulders pushed against the sleeves of his tshirt, stretching the grey fabric over his back. Even with his head resting on the desk, the girl could clearly tell that the boy was quite tall as well. She took a deep breath before placing a hand lightly on his shoulder and shaking gently, as not to startle him.

The boy moved ever so slightly and the girl hastily retracted her hand. He mumbled groggily as he began to stir.

"What is it?" He didn't sound nearly as intimidating as the young girl expected, but she still kept somewhat of a distance from him, just in case.

"Um, sorry to bother you but the library is closing now." She replied, her voice quiet.

He turned to look at her, one hand rubbing tiredly at his forehead. He stopped in his tracks when their stares met, eyes traveling over the surface of her face with what he assumed was wonder and admiration. To the girl in front of him, however, it just looked as if he was intensely staring her down with fiery olive hues. She shuffled uncomfortably under his gaze and he snapped out of his trance, grabbing all of his books and standing up from his chair. He turned to the girl who had inexplicably caught his eye and bowed deeply.

"Sorry for causing you so much trouble. It will not happen again." His voice was deep and monotone, and fit his image perfectly. There was no other way to describe the boy but...intense.

The brunette smiled, waving away his apology with a nervous laugh. "It's not an issue. Don't worry about it." She began to turn around to continue closing up. "Have a nice night."

She only took one step before the deep voice stopped her. Her heart skipped a beat in her chest. "Wait." Slowly, she turned to look at him, heat rising to her face. "What's your name?"

With furrowed eyebrows, she answered his question. "My name is Sayuri Ryoko."

The boy nodded matter-of-factly. "I'm Ushijima Wakatoshi. Nice to meet you, Sayuri."

And with that, he left the library with a few long, fluid steps. Ryoko stared after him even after he was out the door, shaking her head in confusion. Boys were strange.

\----------

Ushijima came to the library almost every evening after that. At first he didn't speak a word to the young girl, but Ryoko could practically feel him staring holes into the back of her head whenever she was in his line of sight. It made her uncomfortable and fidgety at first, but she eventually got used to it.

One day, about two weeks into his daily visits, Ryoko was attempting to put a book on the top shelf of one of the huge bookcases. Not able to reach, she was about to grab a chair when a large hand plucked the book out of her grasp and slid it right into the open space on the shelf. She yelped quietly with surprise and spun around, only to smack her face into a broad chest. Craning her neck, she stared right into Ushijima's scary face.

"Oh, hi Ushijima. Thanks for the help." She gestured vaguely upwards and shuffled backwards, trying to regain as much personal space as possible, but to no avail.

The large boy shrugged. "It was no problem."

An awkward silence ensued as the girl wrung her hands together, trying to think of something to say. Finally, she managed to mumble out a coherent sentence.

"Yeah...well, I should probably get back to work..." She trailed off awkwardly. She expected the boy to look at her strangely, but he just nodded and walked back to his table to continue doing, well, whatever Ushijima did in the library all the time.

\----------

After that, Ushijima talked to her almost every time he paid a visit to the library.  Most days he wouldn't even bring any books with him, he'd just walk in, chat with Ryoko for ten or fifteen minutes, then walk out.  The young girl didn't mind his brief visits, if anything she enjoyed the break from work.  Every so often he would bring Tendou to the library with him, and they would study together.

A few more months had passed since Ryoko had first met the strange boy, and on a particularly cold summer evening she walked by Ushijima and Tendou seated at a table, pouring over textbooks. Tendou looked up from his work to smile at the young girl.  "You look nice today, Ryoko-chan. Did you do something new with your hair?"  The redhead smirked as Ryoko twisted a piece of brown hair around her finger self-consciously.

"No, not particularly. But thanks, Tendou." She flashed a quick smile. "That's really sweet of you to say."

Ushijima grunted, catching both Tendou and Ryoko's atention. "Don't be stupid Tendou, she looks nice every day."

As soon as her brain registered his words, heat rose to the brunette's face.  Not able to look him in the eye, she mumbled some kind of half-assed apology before scurrying as fast as she could towards the back room to organize books. She could hear Tendou laughing as she retreated from the scene, cheeks burning pink.

She emerged about thirty minutes later, popping only her head out the door to scan the library for any sign of Ushijima. Lo and behold, there he was, sitting at the same table. However, it seemed like Tendou had left, and the table was empty save for the gigantic boy.

With a small but determined sigh, Ryoko stepped out into the main room to continue her work.  The library was going to close soon anyway, so Ushijima couldn't stay forever.  She could once again feel his stare on her as she mulled about the room, scanning the shelves for any books out of order.  She tried to ignore him, but he was such a huge presence it was hard to just tune him out.

She was near the back of the building reorganizing books when she heard someone clear their throat behind her.  Trying not to jump out of her skin, Ryoko turned around.  Of course, it had to be Ushijima. She swallowed nervously, eyes involuntarily scanning his body, lingering on his broad shoulders stretching the black fabric of his tshirt before travelling down his arms to admire his ungodly biceps. She always tried not to stare at him, but it was a struggle when faced with someone so damn perfect.  She couldn't even admit to herself that she had  ~~frequent~~  occasional fantasies about running her hands over his perfect muscles.  She was in deep and drowning, no matter how hard she tried to swim.

"Ryoko."  The deep voice that she had come to love pulled her out of her thoughts. "Sorry for making you uncomfortable earlier."  The girl blushed under his intense gaze, waving away his apologies.  She remembered Tendou's shocked expression the first time he heard Ushijima apologize to her.  Apparently he didn't often say sorry.  _He's such a softie around you_. She remembered Tendou saying to her with a mischievous smirk.  _I've never seen him smile so much in my life._  Ushijima didn't really smile that much, she had told Tendou, but she supposed compared to normal, all of his small smirks when she made a lame joke or talked passionately meant so much more than she could know.

"I wasn't joking, though."  Ryoko was once again dragged from her memories.  She needed to listen more.  "You always look very pretty." Ryoko watched as his adam's apple bobbed in his throat.  Was he...nervous? "You're extremely intelligent and though I can't always talk with you about books, I love hearing your stories about them." Ushijima's stare was fixed on the carpet beneath his shoes, Ryoko vaguely realized it was the first time he had not made direct eye contact while talking with her.  "I like...being around you, I suppose.  I'm not sure how else to explain..."  His voice trailed off into a mumble, and Ryoko couldn't even comprehend how  _cute_ it was to see Japan's #1 spiker reduced to a blushing, mumbling mess.

"It's okay, Ushijima.  You don't need to explain." She smiled softly at him when he raised his eyes to meet hers.  Feeling brave, she reached out to grab his hand.  The large boy eagerly intertwined their fingers, her slim ones fitting into the spaces between his own.

"I guess...this is the part where I'm supposed to kiss you?"  His face was composed, but the redness at the tips of his ears gave away his embarrassment.  

Ryoko was smitten, letting out a small giggle. "If that's what you want, Ushijima."

Not wasting any time, Ushijima pulled on her hand, bringing her to his chest.  His free hand rested gently on the side of her face as he leaned down, brushing their lips together carefully. Electricity seemed to flow through the two of them like they were live wires and the boy fully closed his hooded eyes as he pressed his mouth against Ryoko's decisively.

Ryoko made a few appreciative noises into the boy's mouth, unlacing their fingers so she could run her hands up his hard chest like she had dreamed of doing so many times.  Her hands came to a stop in his hair, delicate fingers lacing through the soft, feather-like strands. He groaned quietly into her mouth, kissing the girl of his dreams even better than he imagined it would be.  Never before had he been so enthralled with someone, it was an experience akin to waking up in a different universe.  When Ryoko finally pulled away, his lips felt disappointingly cold.

The silence between them only lasted a few seconds, the broad-shouldered boy's voice cutting through the low hum of the lights above their heads. "Wakatoshi."

Ryoko's eyebrows knitted together in confusion. "What?"

"Call me Wakatoshi." He confirmed, olive eyes boring into brown ones with unrestrained intensity.

Immediately, Ryoko's face went pink.  Ushijima had to fight to keep his lips from turning upward into a smile.

"Okay...Wakatoshi." His first name felt awkward on her tongue, and she buried her burning face into Ushijima's chest to hide her embarrassment. Unseen by Ryoko's eyes, Ushijima's face broke out into a grin as he stroked her hair.  Pressing his lips gently to the top of her head, he exhaled.  Whatever this was, he liked it.

\----------

Together, the two closed up the library and Ushijima insisted on walking Ryoko back to her apartment.  They walked down the dimly lit streets in silence, interlocked fingers speaking volumes that words never could.  It didn't take long for Ushijima to notice the goosebumps forming on Ryoko's bare arms, and he tugged her gently to a stop. She looked at him curiously. "Are you cold?" His eyebrows came together in concern when the girl shook her head.

"No, not really."

"But you have goosebumps." He pressed.

"It's not a big deal." She shrugged. "We're almost to my apartment anyway."

Ushijima shook his head as he began to slide his sweatshirt off his arms, draping it over Ryoko's smaller form. His lips formed a small smile when she snuggled into it slightly, taking a deep breath.  The sweater was huge, but it smelled like Ushijima and it was still warm from his body heat. She loved it. "Thanks."

The tall boy laced their fingers together again, tugging her along as he began walking. The comfortable silence enveloped them again, only the sounds of wind blowing through the buildings and their quiet footsteps against the sidewalk following them as they moved through the neighborhood.

Eventually, they stopped in front of Ryoko's apartment, neither of them willing to let go of the other's hand. Ushijima leaned in to place a soft kiss against her lips, and she responded eagerly for a few seconds before pulling away.  "See you later, I guess." She mumbled, reluctantly slipping her fingers out of his grip.

The corners of Ushijima's lips twitched slightly. "I'll be in the library." 

Ryoko nodded before starting to slip the sweater off her shoulders.  Ushijima stopped her with a large hand. "Keep it.  I have lots more at home."

The girl nodded with a small smile, the boy pecking her quickly on the forehead before beginning to walk away.  Ryoko watched his retreating back, enveloped in his scent as she burrowed even deeper into the huge sweater. She stayed outside until he disappeared around a corner, and even then she stood in the cold for longer than necessary, just staring at the corner around which Ushijima had vanished.  A grin was plastered on her features.

Whatever this was, she liked it. 

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if Ushijima is kind of OOC. I'm a sucker for assholes actually being huge softies. I can never get enough of that fluffy shit.


	5. Mornings

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> I am 100% fluffy Tsukki trash, god rest my soul

Waking up at 12:00 pm on a Saturday wrapped in the arms of your lover is an ethereal experience.

 It almost felt like I was dreaming when my eyes cracked open.  My body was totally relaxed and cozy warm, sunlight peeking through the blinds and illuminating the room around me.  Registering the warm mass pressed against my back, I turned around to face the man I loved more than anything in this infinite universe.  To my surprise, he was already awake, honey coloured eyes peering into mine fondly.

"Good morning, beautiful." He mumbled, his voice still heavy with sleep.  Curly blonde hair was sticking out in all directions over his head, mused into a mess by his pillow overnight.  Slowly, he leaned forward and pressed his lips to the top of my head.  He was always so affectionate in the mornings.

I laughed quietly. "You can't even see me, you don't have your glasses on, Kei.  We just woke up, I'm sure we're both far from beautiful."  

Vaguely, I remembered when I first met him and Yamaguchi, at a party during our freshman year of university.  Kei had gotten absolutely hammered and he was too heavy for poor Tadashi to carry home by himself.  I noticed him struggling, so I offered to help.  We ended up taking half-unconscious Tsukki back to my apartment, since it was closer, and the three of us had been fairly tight-knit since then. Of course Kei was awfully prickly at first, but he eventually warmed up in his own strange way.  According to Yamaguchi, he had been pining after me for quite some time before he ended up confessing, I was just too stupid to notice it.

"Hey." Kei mumbled softly, bringing my attention away from memories and towards the present.  "I love you." His arms tightened slightly around my torso.  "Do I tell you that often enough?"

I sighed fondly.  Of course he did.  He practically said it every five minutes, not that I really minded.  It made me feel special to be the only one to receive this kind of affection from him.  The first time I met his family, he didn't let go of my hand once.  His mother and brother were astounded by the way he acted around me.  Admittedly, I was surprised at first too.   

Kei's lips were suddenly pressed lightly to the junction of my neck and shoulder, travelling upwards until they met my earlobe, which he nibbled on affectionately. I sighed in mock exasperation. "Honestly, Kei, you're so clingy in the mornings." I mumbled, breathing out a laugh when he tilted his head up to frown at me.  God, he was so adorable.

"I am _not_ clingy." He huffed indignantly, and I couldn't help but laugh at his child-like appearance.  His mouth was turned down, cheeks lightly flushed. His eyes still looked tired from sleep. I couldn't stop myself from leaning down and kissing the tip of his nose with a giggle.

"You're so cute, Tsukki."  I murmured to him, a small smile permanently plastered on my lips.  Without warning, Kei's arms tugged me into his chest,  face pressed into the material of his sweater. "Kei!" I squawked, voice muffled by the fabric in my mouth.  "I can't breathe!" his grip loosened enough to be survivable, but not enough for me to escape .

"Now I can cuddle you without complaints." Kei snickered, and I sighed.  What a man-child, seriously.

"What can I say that'll convince you to let me go?" 

"Hmmm..." his chest rumbled as he hummed in thought, I could feel the vibrations on my cheek. "Tell me you love me." I heard the grin in his voice. 

I rolled my eyes, though I lacked the usual conviction, as the intended target couldn't see it.  "Forcing me to say it won't really be the same, will it?"

His arms moved slightly around me, tightening his grip marginally.  "Say it or perish." I laughed in spite of myself.  If I could travel back in time and tell myself that the one and only Tsukishima Kei would be begging me to say I love him in the future, I would have laughed in my own face.  When we first met, the asshole told me to go fuck myself on practically a daily basis.  I guess he still says it a lot, but I always quip back and it's more of a term of endearment now.  The change in our relationship in the last few years was staggering. We had a bumpy start, yes, but now I wouldn't trade him for anyone.  He really didn't need to beg me to say I love him.

I took a deep breath, inhaling the scent that lingered on all of his clothes. Fresh, like newly washed laundry.  Familiar.  He smelled like home to me.

"I love you, Tsukishima Kei."

His grip immediately loosened, and one of his hands found its way under my chin, tilting my gaze to meet his.  

"What a coincidence."  His golden eyes gleamed.  "I love you too."

As he moved down to press his lips gently against mine for our first kiss of the day, I couldn't help but think there was nowhere else I'd rather be than right there in that moment.  Even if he _was_ kind of an asshole.

 


	6. Hiding

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Yet another Tsukishima fic, this time I went for the reader insert format. I was having trouble sleeping, so I whipped this up in about 30 minutes, sorry for any spelling or grammar mistakes. Enjoy!

Tsukishima finds it funny how he can think so highly and so lowly of himself at the same time. 

The boy is a walking oxymoron of low self-esteem and assholeish arrogance, all wrapped up into 188 centimeters of sneering sarcasm. His emotions are bottled up, not daring to escape except at his most vulnerable moments.  In another one of his more confident phases, he fancied himself to be a master of hiding what he feels.

And oh boy was he ever wrong.

* * *

 

He meets you during his first year of high school, Yamaguchi's friend who has recently moved to Miyagi from the city. It infuriates him how  _cool_ you are, how your rational mind manages to sort out issues and respond perfectly in situations that would otherwise overwhelm others.

You piss him off because you're everything he thought he was, but so much better.

Of course, having only one friend substantially limits your choices when involving who you can and can't spend time with, so he ends up spending the rest of his high school days with you around. By the end of first year, he can't say he really minds you, you always have a witty remark to shoot back after he gets too snarky and somehow, you keep his personality from becoming unbearable.

He doesn't ever quite understand how you work or what you're thinking, but in the end, he realizes that's the fundamental rule of humans: You will never truly know a person any more than when you first meet them.

Sure, what's on the surface is easy to memorize: the way you rub your temples when you're tired, the way you hold your pencil so strangely between your fingers, the way he knows you're not paying attention in class when your eyes gain that certain glassy look. But he can never know what's going on beyond that empty stare.

_What is she thinking?_

_How is she feeling?_

_What is she really like, by herself, truly?_

**_Who is this girl?_ **

Tsukishima accepts that he will never find out the answers.

* * *

 

He understands the golden rule of humans in its entirety one day when he's at your house with Yamaguchi to work on a group project. 

His head is pounding due to lack of sleep the previous night, so you point him towards the medicine cabinet so he can take a few aspirin and "stop his damn complaining", as you had so nicely put it.

An orange pill bottle on the top shelf of the cabinet catches his eye after he downs a few of the small white aspirin tablets, praying for ibuprofen to be the answer to all his problems.

The pills are prescribed for you, and he wonders with a snicker if Venlafaxine is used to remedy some embarrassing medical condition like hemorrhoids or chronic diarrhea. He puts the pills back in their place on the shelf and leaves the bathroom with a condescending smirk.

Nearly three days later, the thought of that orange plastic in the cabinet fleetingly crosses his mind once again. Typing what he thinks is the name of the medication he saw into the search bar, the results leave him feeling shaken.

 _Venlafaxine, more commonly known as Effexor, is a commonly prescribed antidepressant used to treat major depression, anxiety disorders, and phobias_.

Tsukishima thinks back to any memories of...you, that of which he has many. He tries to remember if he saw any indicators of anything even related to depression, but he draws a blank each time.

There's no double meanings to your smiles, there's no secret sadness hiding behind your eyes. When he remembers you, he doesn't all of the sudden see some frail, innocent person crying out for help. He sees you, and everything that you are. Confident, rational, witty, calm. 

Your ability to hide your struggles amazes him because once again, you've managed to beat him at his own game.

He's not surprised to see your eyes widen in shock when he tells you he's there for you if you need to talk. The realization registers on your face almost immediately, of course, he expects that from someone as smart as you. Though you don't respond verbally, you give him a small nod before turning away to return to your seat.

If you had been facing him, he wonders, would he have seen what he couldn't have seen before?

* * *

 

Tsukishima gets a call from you not even a week later, and the frailty he hears in your voice even over the phone practically gives him a heart attack.

He doesn't speak until you're done telling him how you feel, how you can't help but feel the loneliness creep in towards you more and more every day, how it gets harder to get out of bed with each passing morning. You talk about how long and unforgiving life seems, and that sixteen years feels like more than enough misery for one person.

When you finish, the boy knows that you've been dealing with this by yourself for too long.

"Where are you right now? Are you at home?"

"I'm at the park, the one near my house."

Tsukishima doesn't hesitate before answering. "Stay there. I'm coming."

He reaches the park in ten minutes looking like a frazzled mess. He's not wearing socks, his glasses are sitting neglected on his bedside table at home, and his dinosaur patterned pajamas hardly seem to be the appropriate attire. But as the wind whistles past his ears, carrying towards him the sound of your quiet sobs, the brontosauruses on his pants are the least of his worries.

He sits down next to you under a looming tree, obviously much older than the playground equipment setting a mere twenty yards away. The metal looks uncharacteristically eerie when bathed in the gentle glow of moonlight.

He silently wraps his arms around you and you lean into him, the first solid thing in your life in what seems like forever. Your cries are quiet, and Tsukishima can't quite shake the uneasy feeling settling in the pit of his stomach from seeing you in such a state as this. It makes him angry at himself for not realizing sooner, but then again, were it not for that little orange bottle, he would never have had any idea.

When your sobs finally trail off and cease, and the after-shock hiccups are gone, you feel the hand that had been rubbing your back move to squeeze your shoulder.

Tsukishima's heart seems to compress in his chest when you look up at him, but he can see no sadness in your eyes. You're just that good, he guesses.

"I'm here." He mumbles, and he thinks he sees something flash in the pigmented pools of your irises. Perhaps he's imagining it. "So no more hiding, okay?"

"No more hiding." You repeat back, and for once, you actually believe it.


End file.
